The linked article on the Amgen-Wiesel connection is very interesting:
the Amgen product Epogen had been credited by Lance Armstrong as saving his life during his cancer treatment in the late 90s.
This is highly ironic, because when doping allegations were first made against LA, one of his stock answers was that, having survived cancer, there was no way he would take drugs that might increase the chances of recurrence. In fact, as this article goes on to note, there is increasing evidence linking EPO to increased risk of cancer, or to progression of existing cancer. But this was not appreciated in the late 1990s. So LA was denying that he doped on the basis that his cancer experience made him acutely aware of the health risks of drugs, while at the same taking a drug (shown in the ’99 samples) that he in fact had praised as saving his life during treatment.
I don't know how much more blatant a lie could be. Even those who refuse to accept the very strong evidence of the '99 samples cannot deny that LA was given EPO as treatment, praised the drug, then when he returned to cycling said he would never use it because of its health risks. It might be interesting to ask him exactly when he stopped taking EPO for medical purposes.That is, when was the latest time he would admit to being given the drug.
And Blutto is surely right that EPO was taken by some cyclists in the late 80s. The cluster of suspicious deaths of Dutch and Belgian riders began in 1987 (though it was never proven for certain that EPO caused any of these deaths), and the first rider to be banned for EPO was, according to an old CN story, in 1988.
Yes, the "Greg Card" is appropriate in this thread. Very appropriate.
I have no problem with people bringing him up here. But I’m still waiting for someone to provide evidence that Greg used EPO, or much of anything else, for that matter. There is no Lemond equivalent of the ’99 samples. There is also a large body of evidence of climbing stages showing that power went up significantly higher than the best Lemond, Hinault, etc were able to manage.
Lots of arrows in LA’s quiver, Polish—EPO, blood doping, cortisone, maybe HemAssist. Not so many arrows in Greg’s quiver. Talent is the only one we can so far see sticking out.
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